


How to Catch a Dragon

by LuluRequests (EntameWitchLulu)



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, Knight!Masumi, M/M, dragon!Yuya, prince!Reiji
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-01 21:16:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20264620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EntameWitchLulu/pseuds/LuluRequests
Summary: Magic is illegal in Maiami after the magicians of Heartland killed Princess Ray -- or at least, that's how the propaganda tells it.  Prince Reiji knows better, and if he wants to have a chance to stop his father from ripping apart the very fabric of the world to bring his daughter back, he is going to need a little more magic at his disposal than he has.Unfortunately, the best source of magic in the world comes from dragons.  And dragons are difficult to find -- and even more difficult to master.





	How to Catch a Dragon

**Author's Note:**

  * For [czoedy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/czoedy/gifts).

Although she took every bit of her job immensely seriously, she knew that getting this shift meant that she was considered the most useless knight on the entire force.

Masumi ground her teeth, shifting from one foot to the other. Her armor clinked softly against the chainmail beneath. She didn’t break formation, though, standing at attention, her lance at the ready, and staring out at the dark, winding back road that led up to the very far end of the city gates. There was nothing but rocks leading up towards the mountains — no one would ever mount a serious assault over those. Only fools traversed the hills — not only were they a terrible place of uneven footing, sudden pitfalls and dangerous cliffs, and took days to get across, but you just didn’t pass through without attracting the attention of the fae.

No, this was the kind of job you gave to someone you wanted to get out of the way, and Masumi knew it. Fools. She ground her teeth again, cracking her shoulder blades. All because she’d dared to show how good she was in a practice match. All because she’d humiliated the captain — not that that was her  _ fault _ . The captain ought to train better if he didn’t want an only recently sired girl to defeat him. She could do so much more good on the front half of the guard, or even guarding the royal family — gods knew they needed it, what with all the trouble they’d caused lately...

Her thoughts ground to a halt as she heard the soft, almost imperceptible footstep in the courtyard behind her. Immediately, she stood up straight. She lowered her lance into both hands, aimed towards the ground for now, but easy to lift up and impale at a moment’s notice. Her breathing stilled to such a silence that she could hear a mouse skittering over the stones. But she didn’t hear the footstep. Had she imagined it?

The tiniest scuff of a shoe, a soft intake of breath — it was right beside her.

Her brain roared with thoughts of magicians and fae and magic, and without thinking, she swung the butt of her lance about, and struck. It hit something invisible in the air beside her, and she heard someone’s breath catch and cough, heard the sound of someone collapsing to the ground. She swung her lance back around to the point end first and pointed it towards the sound, as the magician’s spell broke apart and the cloaked figure appeared beside her.

“On your feet!” she commanded. “In the name of the Crown, you will state your business!”

The figure coughed a moment more — she must have caught him right in the diaphragm with her first strike. It took him a moment, and a quick poke of her lance, for him to raise both hands over his head and slowly stand up.

“If it’s the Crown you invoke, then I’m afraid I do have the right to decline.”

Masumi’s mouth dropped open. Her eyes widened.

The man pushed the hood back from his face, keeping his hands otherwise up, and dark eyebrows raised over his bespectacled eyes, up into his slick, gray bangs.

“Your Highness?” Masumi said, letting her spear drop to the ground. She fumbled for a moment, caught between disbelief, shock, and annoyance, and unsure of whether to be angry or respectful. “What — what in the  _ gods  _ are you doing out here, sneaking about?”

His Highness Crown Prince Reiji smiled blandly. He let his hands fall back to his sides, fixing the lay of his cloak and the position of his glasses.

“How unfortunate for me,” he said. “I thought for certain they’d put someone of little skill back here.”

He glanced her up and down, and it took Masumi a moment to realize that he’d... _ sort _ of complimented her. Hang on, that wasn’t the point.

“I know it’s not my place to ask, sire, but — what  _ are _ you doing here?” she asked.

Reiji glanced towards the gate, and then at Masumi.

“I was hoping to sneak out,” he said. “I should think that’s obvious.”

“But —  _ why _ ?”

Masumi didn’t know very much about the prince. She’d met him a few times, in passing. He’d be present, quiet and unemotional, during her siring ceremony. She’d seen him watching the knights practice a few times, and heard him speaking to the captain of the guards here and there about what sort of patrols were going on in the city proper. He was said to be quiet, scholarly, and was well-liked among the people because he was often seen among them, speaking to them and actually listening — he continued to hold court petitions long after his father had stopped making public appearances to focus on the war effort. But she didn’t  _ know _ him. And she definitely hadn’t known he was a magician — how could she? Magic belonged to the enemy, Heartland — it was banned. Illegal. The prince himself still shouldn’t be above that law, not since it was said that his sister, the Heir Apparent, had been killed by magic.

Reiji glanced back and forth across the courtyard.

“Ser Kotsu, is anyone else in this vicinity?” he asked.

Masumi blinked, startled that he knew her name.

“No,” she said. “Not to my knowledge.”

She scowled at him then.

“And there shouldn’t be. Including you, milord.”

Reiji fixed his glasses, considering her for a moment. He glanced her up and down, checking her grip on her lance, and then glancing at the gated off exit.

“I don’t suppose you’ll let me through the gate.”

“We’re — your father the King instituted a lockdown,” Masumi said, incredulous. “Unless you have some letter of note explaining why you’re sneaking about — and for that matter, for why you’re using  _ magic _ —”

“If I ordered you to step aside and let me through, telling no one I was here, would you obey?”

His voice cut her off midsentence, despite being much lower and softer than her own. Despite the cool, level quiet of his voice, she heard it plainly — and the warning in it.

She hesitated. Well...he  _ was _ the prince. She’d sworn fealty to the nation he ruled. But she’d also sworn an oath to uphold the law, and currently, the law set by the king, higher ranked than he, was that no one was allowed to enter or leave the city without permission. Considering Reiji’s response, it didn’t seem he had such permission. Still, refusing his orders could also come back to bite her.

As she struggled briefly with the idea, Reiji tilted his head down to fix his glasses again.

“I’ve put to you quite an impossible question,” he said. “I apologize.”

He took one step backwards. Masumi didn’t move from her place in between him and the gate. She glanced at it, and then back at him.

“What’s so important that you’re leaving in the dead of night, shrouded in magic, and trying to sneak away without permission? You’re the  _ prince _ . Can’t you get permission — your Highness?” She added the honorific hurriedly.

Reiji considered her more deeply this time, his stance suddenly very rigid. He glanced at the gate again.

“Ser Kotsu. Let me ask you one further impossible question.”

“And what’s that, Your Highness?”

“When you took your oaths, did you swear yourself to the king and the Crown? Or did you swear yourself to the people? In other words, Ser Kotsu — were it a choice between the Crown and the people, whom would you put your life on the line for?”

Masumi’s lips parted. He was right, it was an impossible question. She was a knight of the Crown, sworn in by the king — but she’d joined the forces to protect people like her friends and family and neighbors and...and, well, if she was honest, she would protect them first, if it was a choice. But she couldn’t exactly say that  _ to _ the Crown — even if he was only the prince.

Reiji waited with remarkable patience for her answer while she struggled with what to say — what answer was he looking for? She couldn’t read him.

She gave up after about twenty seconds of deliberation — she had never been one to stay silent on what she thought, and she wouldn’t do so now. Even if it could land her in trouble.

“I swore on the Crown,” she said, “but my first duty is to the people of this kingdom, and serving them.”

Reiji let out a long, low breath, like air releasing from a kettle. He tugged his collar open just a bit.

“Good,” he said, surprising her. “In that case, Ser Kotsu, this is not an order: this is a request. I request that you accompany me on a mission of great, and discreet, importance.”

Masumi considered him back a moment, this time it was her turn to do the look up and down, at his scrawny frame and soft hands. He certainly looked like he  _ needed _ an escort, even if he was a magician.

“Am I allowed to ask what the mission is?” she asked.

“Only that if we do not complete it,” Reiji said, “it is likely that this kingdom, and its people, will all be razed to the ground.”

His voice brokered no time for questions or disagreement — it thrummed with an authority that she expected from the Crown, but also with a concern and worry that surprised her. She hesitated only a beat longer. Then she swung her lance around to her back, strapping it back on, and turned towards the gate. Using the key around her neck, she unlocked it, and wrenched it open as quietly as possible.

Then she turned to Reiji.

“You know,” she said, “you could have started with that.”

* * *

“You need to be more careful. There could be more traps — even ambushes. You’re a  _ prince, _ you know, Your Highness.”

“Next time I think I may be about to step in a rabbit’s snare, I will let you know.”

Reiji suppressed a small smile at Masumi’s clear irritation, the scowl on her face at his quip. He carefully extracted his foot from the small rope that had snatched at his ankle, leaving the spent snare off the path. Masumi’s concerns were, of course, understandable — he had taken her on as a bodyguard, and it was her job to fret. But there was no way anyone would know that he was even out here. His usual personal bodyguard, Tsukikage, was doing an excellent job of covering for him, or pretending to be him with an illusion when absolutely necessary. As far as the kingdom was concerned, Crown Prince Akaba Reiji was suffering a bad cold. No one would expect to find him tromping about in the forest wilderness with an unknown knight.

Still, Masumi’s single-mindedness — and her bluntness — was part of the reason he’d decided to bring her along on impulse. The other part was not trusting her enough to not say anything about seeing him, and liking to keep her close.

But she was honest. And she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, even to someone who ruled her. It was an admirable quality, and one that would hopefully serve him in this fool’s errand.

He rolled the stone in his pocket while Masumi insisted on forging a bit ahead, looking suspiciously at trees and poking bushes with her lance. The stone sparked and warmed slightly, revealing to him the magic within it, but he did not siphon any off. The invisibility spell had taken quite a bit of his reserves already, and he would need what remained for his quest.

“Be more careful,” Masumi complained as she returned to him. “If Heartland knew you were out here...their magicians would have you and I both killed in an instant.”

“Magic isn’t so instantaneous,” Reiji said.

Masumi gave him a suspicious look.

“And of course you would know all about that.”

He didn’t respond. His use of magic had likely concerned her, but he didn’t need to tell her all — or any — of his secrets. She walked alongside him a moment longer while they made their way through the thin forest trail, barely more than a deer trail.

“So you can use magic,” she finally said, cutting straight to the point. Straightforward, he thought again. It was what made her so unsuited to getting along with the other knights, who preferred their subordinates to be quiet and not ask questions. “I thought it was illegal.”

“A clever trick for my father to have an excuse to seize every available source of magic in the kingdom,” he said.

He offered nothing further — and he would not, unless she asked the right questions. For a while, she didn’t speak. Then she let out an annoyed sound.

“Maiami Kingdom has  _ never _ had magicians,” she said. “They’re from  _ Heartland _ .”

That wasn’t a question, so Reiji didn’t respond to it. He checked the height of the sun filtering through the trees, trying to guess at what time it was, and what time they would arrive at the village.

“How do you cast that spell? The invisibility one.”

“You wouldn’t be able to do it, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Masumi actually glowered at him, and he couldn’t help but turn his head away to smile slightly. It was almost refreshing, how little respect she had.

“I don’t have any need for magic,” she said. “But if I’m going to protect you, I’d like to know what I have to work with — if you could make yourself invisible during a fight and hide somewhere, it would make my job a lot easier.”

Ah, there it was — an understandable reason for her to ask a question. 

He dug into his pocket, and withdrew his stone. Masumi frowned at the small, red ore, glittering with chunks of black glass within it’s somewhat rounded, but still rough, shape. He was slightly surprised to see recognition flare in her eyes.

“Heartish ore,” she said, “now where did you get a hold of that?”

Reiji tilted his head with surprise.

“You know of it?”

Masumi shrugged as she stepped over a rock.

“My father was a jeweler,” she said. “Once, a noble asked to have one cut for him. It was the rarest stone my father’d ever worked with, and the most money he’d ever made. It paid for my way into the knight’s academy.”

Reiji nodded, impressed.

“So you know of its rarity.”

“I do, of course,” Masumi said with a sniff. “But I don’t see what it has to do with magic.”

Reiji turned the stone over in his hand, feeling the heat of the magic without taking it into himself.

“It’s found only in Heartland, and it’s the most refined source of magic in the world.”

Masumi’s eyes widened. Her lips parted.

“It’s  _ magic _ ? But...it’s just a stone.”

Reiji shook his head.

“Magic is a natural force in this world. Magicians are people who can draw that power from the world, and redirect it to perform spells. People are born with the talent, or they are not.”

He tucked his stone away.

“There are many ways of drawing magic from the earth, but none is so raw and full of magical energy as Heartish ore. One small stone the size of mine can power a magician for a decade.”

“Magic comes from  _ rocks? _ ”

“Most often, yes. Old ores absorb and hold magic more easily than other materials. Old wood holds some, but rarely more than enough in a piece for more than three or four spells.”

Masumi shook her head, clearly not getting it.

“So you have enough energy there for a lot of magic, is what I’m hearing.”

“I’ve been using this stone since I was young,” Reiji admitted. “So I no longer have the vast store I began with.”

“Enough for whatever this mission is?”

_ I hope so _ , he thought.

“Yes,” he said aloud.

Masumi nodded, clearly content with the answers she’d received, and not looking to ask for more. For that, Reiji was glad. Any more questions, and he’d have to begin to lie, or evade.

He couldn’t yet tell her how his father had seized every bit of ore in Maiami. How the war with Heartland had nothing to do with their magic killing his sister, that his sister had never even  _ been _ to Heartland — and every bit to do with the Heartish ore he was desperate to collect, the vast stores of it he had squandered away beneath the castle, and the plans that Reiji had found scribbled in shorthand that had taken him weeks to decipher.

And he absolutely could not tell her about the kind of magic that was performed by draining people’s souls.

It took an astonishing amount of magic to bring a person back to life.

Reiji looked up from the trail again, checking their position. A moment later, the trail turned, and as they went around, the sun broke over them. Masumi shielded her eyes, stepping up beside him in the break in the trees. They looked down over the valley, with rolling green hills and bobbing flowers, a bright blue sky hanging idyllically over head, with the mountains on the other side framing it, nestling the valley, and its tiny village dotting the earth far below, in a protective embrace.

Masumi looked confused. He was not about to enlighten her.

After all, the truth would be too terrifying — his father was a magician beyond the realm of understanding with the magic he’d collected. Reiji could study and train for years and have no means of defeating him. Heartish ore was the strongest source of magic in the world, and Akaba Leo had more gathered together than a mountain could hold.

Well, actually...Heartish ore wasn’t the  _ strongest _ source. Magic was a living thing, after all, and the kind of magic that calcified in rock, while strong, was stale, as far as magic went. 

No, there was one way Reiji could hope to outmaneuver his father — with a source of  _ living _ magic. Magic that would not deplete — magic that refreshed itself perpetually, magic that was pure and raw with the life energy of the world itself. There weren’t many sources of living magic left in this world, however, not since the unicorns had returned to the world from whence they came during the Great Migration, and taken most of the magical creatures with them. Finding such a source, if it had been easy, would have likely been his father’s first choice. But he believed there was no such source left in this world, and focused only on the remnants in the earth.

As they gazed down at the faraway village, Reiji hesitated before beginning down the valley.

Then they heard the distant, echoing roar. 

It was far away, but the mountains made it vibrate, made it shake them to their bones. Masumi shuddered, but Reiji closed his eyes, letting the feeling wash through him with a feeling of relief. The stories were true, after all. He’d finally found rumors that weren’t just gossip.

When he opened his eyes, Masumi was staring at him with utter disbelief — with almost a betrayal in her eyes. Well. There had been a  _ reason _ he hadn’t told her his plan before inviting her along. Even the bravest knight would have reason to quiver before...

“You never said  _ anything _ ,” Masumi said, “about a  _ dragon _ .”

* * *

_ Hot. So hot. Everything is so hot. It’s hard to breathe. Throat is raw and choking and the  _ smoke _ , it’s  _ everywhere _ , ugh, ugh, ugh... _

_ Everything  _ hurts _ . Where...where am.... _

_ Help...help me, help me, help me... _

* * *

Reiji didn’t even bother to hide his face when they came into the village, a fact that drove Masumi mad. Not only was there  _ apparently _ , a gods-damned  _ dragon  _ in these mountains, but having the Crown Prince himself marching into a village where everyone could see him?? This was a nightmare for even someone  _ trained _ to be a bodyguard, and Masumi was trained to be a  _ knight _ . This damned prince...why had she let him talk her into this?

“Please relax,” Reiji said, smiling blandly and raising a hand in greeting to a farmer walking past with his card. “You and I are simply a wandering scholar and his mercenary friend.”

“They’ll recognize you,” she said.

“Out here? Doubtful. Very few from this village have come as far as the capital.”

Masumi glanced at a pair of gossiping women on the side of the road. They gave Reiji a passing glance, but their eyes actually lingered for longer and with more surprise on Masumi. She did stick out more in her armor, even if Reiji had made her take off her crest so that no one would recognize her as a Royal Knight. Perhaps Reiji was right.

Didn’t mean she was going to relax, though.

Reiji wandered down the street, stopping to look in windows or to wave at passersby, and Masumi wanted to yell. Where were they going?? Why was he meandering so much??

Finally, Reiji glanced up at a wooden sign swinging above a tavern —  _ The Declawed Dragon _ , it read. He made his way over to the door and walked in, Masumi on his heels.

There were few inside; it was the middle of the day after all. A couple of teenagers were playing cards on one of the tables, and a haggard looking old man huddled at the counter. Behind the counter, a pretty girl was wiping out glasses, her bright pink hair pulled into a pair of twin tails. She hummed softly to herself — even from here, Masumi could hear the sweet notes of her voice.

Reiji went straight to the counter, sliding into a seat. Masumi took the one beside him, and the girl looked up with a bright, cheery expression.

“Welcome!” she said, putting down her glass and rag. “How can I help you?”

“I would be glad of some water; we’ve had a long walk,” said Reiji.

“Coming right up. And for you?”

Her smile was the brightest, loveliest thing Masumi had ever seen, and for a moment, she was rendered speechless. Then she caught herself, and cleared her throat.

“The same for me, thank you,” she said.

The girl smiled and nodded, turning back towards one of the kegs and filled two glasses with clear spring water. She placed them back on the counter in front of them.

“We don’t see a lot of soldiers around here,” she said, eyes on Masumi. “I’m Yuzu, by the way. And you? What brings you all the way here?”

Masumi hesitated — the girl didn’t seem dangerous, but it was always better safe than sorry.

“She’s been kind enough to accompany me on my research expedition,” Reiji said smoothly, skipping the answer of Masumi’s name. The words drew Yuzu’s eyes to him, and Masumi was somewhat disappointed that those deep blue eyes were no longer looking at her.

“Oh?” Yuzu said, eyes lighting up. “I hope you can tell me a little! I love hearing the stories of everyone who walks through here.”

Reiji sipped his water before answering.

“The truth is, I’m researching the old legends of dragons,” he said. “And I’ve heard rumors of one around here.”

Yuzu’s smile slipped. All at once, all the brightness seemed to drain out of her. 

“Ah,” she said. “Well, you wouldn’t be the first.”

She picked up her glass again and began to clean it out. Masumi and Reiji exchanged a glance. Before either could ask, though, she started talking.

“A lot of folks have come around here asking for dragons, hoping for treasure and hoards. But dragons...they aren’t just legends around here now, you know, sir.”

“Is that so?” Reiji said calmly, as though he didn’t know that he had come here to find a real, living dragon, and not just study their myths. Gods!! She could still hardly believe he’d dragged her out here to hunt a  _ dragon _ ?? They were dangerous, sure, but how did one dragon threaten the lives of the entire kingdom? “I’ve heard stories of a dragon called...Zarc. One who used to live in these mountains as a protector.”

Yuzu’s eyes grew even sadder. She slowly put her glass and rag down, and leaned back against her kegs. Her eyes lifted to the two of them.

“Maybe a long time ago, that was true,” she said. “But...well, it was only a legend for so long. Until...”

Her eyes got even sadder, and she seemed to crumple in on herself. Masumi leaned forward.

“My lady, are you all right?” she asked, concerned.

Yuzu smiled, but she had to wipe tears from her eyes.

“The truth is, sirs, there  _ is  _ a dragon about here, but whether or not it’s the Zarc we once told stories about, I don’t know. All I know is that...well.”

She bit her lip, and shook her head.

“My best friend went missing around the same time it appeared,” she said. “Almost two years ago. We...all we found was blood.”

Her smile was tight and sad and she looked like she was ready to fall apart. Masumi felt her heart break for her.

Reiji, however, fixed his glasses, a strange light coming into his eyes.

“That’s very tragic,” he said, calmly. “I’m sorry.”

But that sentiment wasn’t the one that was in his gaze. Masumi was starting to guess what that look meant — he had just figured something out. 

“Have...there been any other losses?” Reiji asked.

The bar girl ducked her head away, and despite her attempt to hide it, Masumi knew she was wiping some tears away. When she turned back, she had mostly composed herself.

“No,” she said. “Well, except for a sheep or two here or there. The hunters still find deer ravaged by it. But it’s stayed away from the village since then.”

“I see,” Reiji said, nodding slowly. “I’m very sorry you had to lose your friend.”

“Thank you,” she said. “But it’s no good to talk only of sad things. He wouldn’t want me to mourn him forever.”

She seemed like she might be ready to say something else, but the doors opened, and boots clomped onto the old wooden floor, and a bright smile split her lips as she pasted back on her customer smile. 

“G’morning, Yuzu.”

“You’re here early today,” Yuzu said with a laugh as she moved down the counter to meet them. 

Masumi took advantage of the moment to shoot Reiji a glance, but he didn’t look at her. He was mouthing to himself, brow furrowed, as though he were doing math in his head. She poked him in the arm, and he stirred.

“Well?” she said in a low voice. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

His eyes flickered to Yuzu, and then to Masumi. He set a coin down on the table, finished his water, and stepped away from the bench. Masumi hurried to follow him, shooting a glance back towards Yuzu before they were back outside in the sun. 

Reiji glanced about them, and then stood off to the side of the door, just under the shade of the awning, so that they wouldn’t be blocking the door. There were few people around, and none close enough to hear them. Reiji waited for a small group of men to walk into the bar past them before he turned to speak.

“While that was hardly  _ hard  _ evidence of the dragon, it seems likely that it is nearby,” Reiji said. “Unfortunately, from this conversation, I’m still not sure what type of dragon it is, which will make tracking it more difficult. I assume due to the environment that it is likely a hill dragon, and thus will probably not be able to fly —”

“No, no, no, shut up,” Masumi said, aware of how disrespectful she was being and not caring. “You dragged me out here to fight a dragon?”

“I brought you here to help me  _ catch _ one.”

Masumi’s mouth fell open. Her eyes bulged, and for a moment, her head spun. 

“Oh! Great! Let me just go and get the snares!” she said, throwing her hands over her head. “Are you out of your mind, Your Highness?”

“There are magics that can bind the dragon to me,” Reiji said, still as frustratingly calm as ever. “All I need from you is to distract it while I cast those spells.”

“You want us to track down, and  _ distract _ a man-eating monster?”

Reiji pursed his lips then, eyes narrowing slightly.

“Odd, don’t you think?” he said.

Masumi blinked. Her hands fell back to her sides.

“What’s odd?”

“Only one human casualty in two years. Even a wolf that gains a taste for human blood is more than likely to strike again within months of the first attack. But a dragon doesn’t feel safe enough to come near the village for more than a few livestock?”

Masumi’s brow furrowed — she had a feeling he was trying to get at something, but it felt like it was going over her head. That...was strange, though, now that he was pointing it out. She opened her mouth to ask him, straight out, what he was trying to say.

A yell rang out from inside the bar, and glass shattered on the floor. She whipped around to the sound of bodies striking the ground, boots hitting hard, and another scream.

“You put her down, you damn —”

“Let go of me! Let go!”

Another scream and a thud, and Masumi had yanked her sword from her scabbard — Reiji’s hand had dove into his pocket, for his magic rock, probably, but she moved herself in between him and the commotion, eyes fixed on the door.

A man came barrelling backwards through the door, leaving the door swinging open on its hinges, and crumpled down the steps. A second man came through the door on his feet, brandishing his blade around — his lips curled with distaste, looking annoyed.

Her hands tightened on the hilt of her sword when he limped through the door, sword in front of him — and Yuzu’s wrists clamped in the other. 

Yuzu twisted and struggled to get free, yelling and kicking at his shins, but he had a firm grip on both her wrists in one hand, dragging her out the door.

“Let her go,” Masumi said, stepping forward. “Let’s calm down, all right?”

The man’s eyes shot to her, breaths ragged. He snarled as he spun his sword towards her.

“You’ll stay out of the way if you know what’s good for you,” he said. “‘Less you’d like to get on the caravan with her.”

Masumi’s throat tightened as she realized the meaning — but gods, slave traders? Stealing girls in  _ broad daylight _ ? What had become of this kingdom? 

Yuzu’s eyes were wide with fear, her face bone white as she struggled in the man’s grip. He kept her behind him with his sword out in front, eyes fixed on Masumi. Two more men followed after him, blocking Masumi’s way towards Yuzu. 

Masumi kept her stance, jaw tight as she tried to decide what to do. If she got into a fight here, it could put Reiji in danger. But she couldn’t just let this man get away with this, either — it would be against her oaths to defend this kingdom. What was Reiji even  _ doing  _ — 

Reiji let out a tiny, choked sound behind her. Before she could check what for, his hand had snatched her shoulder, and he was yanking the pair of them backwards — 

Just before the awning caved in, and a deafening roar filled the air. 

Masumi’s ears popped from the splitting sound — the air was suddenly  _ hot _ , so warm that it almost felt as though it were singing the hair on the back of her neck. A faint crackling ran through the air, sparking over her armor like static. Reiji yanked on her again, and she was forced to duck just before something huge swiped over her head.

As her head spun, she forced herself back to her feet again, still gripping her sword. 

She had to stop, though, and only stare — just like everyone else was.

The dragon was huge — the size of two draft horses high and four long. Huge, curving white horns of different sizes sprouted from a slender head, glittering scales like rubies coating every inch of it. It stood on two legs, with more large horns sprouting from its back instead of wings, jewel like orbs sprouting from various points of its body, and two shorter but strong looking arms tipped with deadly looking claws.

The man holding Yuzu reacted first. With a loud yell, he threw his sword as far as he could. It clattered on the ground, and the dragon’s head swung towards it. At the distraction, the man snatched Yuzu up, threw her screaming over his shoulders, and bolted.

The sound of Yuzu’s screams drew the dragon’s attention. Masumi’s blood ran cold. Oh, gods, no —

Yuzu screamed and kicked at her attacker — and the dragon attacked.

With a mighty roar, the creature lunged forward. It butted its huge head against the man’s back, sending him flying. Yuzu went flying too, hitting the ground and rolling. Masumi snatched up her sword and ran at the dragon, yelling a battle cry.

It wasn’t even paying attention to her — it’s red and green eyes were fixed on the man who’d tried to take Yuzu, and as he scrambled to his feet, the dragon’s head lunged forward — teeth tore into flesh and a scream cut through the air. The dragon’s tail whipped around as it flung the man from his mouth, tail smacking hard into one of the other slave traders and sending him flying into a wall. Yuzu tried to get up, coughing and choking on the dust, and the last of the three tried to snatch her. The dragon was on him in seconds, teeth crushing the man in less than a breath.

But now the dragon was crouched directly over a frozen Yuzu, blood dripping from its mouth as it flung the now dead man away. Masumi reached the beast, swinging her sword hard at its tail. Her sword merely clanged off its scales, and the tail caught against her chest, sending her back a few feet. She only needed its attention — and yet, it seemed unconcerned by her attack, still crouched over Yuzu.

“Is this enough of a distraction for you?” she screamed at Reiji as she moved to strike the dragon again.

She wasn’t the only one, either. A woman charged from the bar with a pitchfork, yelling. He stabbed it at the dragon’s underside, catching it beneath the arm and it screamed — blood dribbled from where the pitchfork had struck. It must have weak points!

The first man who’d been thrown from the bar was on his feet now, too, brandishing a shovel, running at the dragon’s other side to strike at it. 

Now the dragon was getting agitated, tail lashing so badly that Masumi had to hit the ground to avoid it. She heard the clang of weapons against scales, yells of other villagers heading for them. She pushed herself up again — and Reiji immediately shoved her back down, as the dragon’s mouth opened wide, and let out a stream of pure green light that rushed over their heads.

The light hit a building behind them and  _ exploded.  _ Masumi threw her hands over her head while debris and rocks tumbled over her head. She coughed, choking on dust. Her ears rang.

As her hearing returned, she realized that the cloying heat had disappeared. She swallowed thickly, pushing herself up on her fists. Her heart clamored against her ribs as she looked around.

The dragon was...gone? No, she could see the wreckage that led towards its escape, and in the distance, the glitter of rubies — was it  _ that _ fast?? No wonder it had snuck up on them so suddenly.

Her chest tightened as she realized that something else was missing.

Yuzu.

She reached up and grabbed Reiji by the collar.

“Are you happy now?” she coughed at him. “It’s taken another human.”

But somehow, she wasn’t surprised to see how unconcerned Reiji appeared to be, even covered in dust and debris. He extracted himself from her grip, and sat up on his knees.

“Yes,” he said. “It has.”

His eyes glanced over the dead bodies of the slavers, still crumpled on the ground.

“Interesting though, that it did not simply take the meal it had already had in its grasp.”

Masumi’s heart thudded in her chest and ears, and she couldn’t be bothered to interpret his cryptic words. She pulled herself up to her feet, using her sword for support.

“Gods,” she swore. “I don’t care. We need to go after it before it kills Yuzu.”

Reiji only nodded, sweeping to his feet. A strange look of awe had entered his eyes, though, as he stared after the dragon’s wake. Masumi ignored it, yanking her sword from the ground and sheathing it. She started walking, not waiting for him.

* * *

_ Run run run run run don’t look back oh it hurts it hurts so badly, but can’t stop can’t stop, must run — _

_ She’s still screaming she must be hurt oh no she’s...oh what is he...what is  _ doing _ ... _

_ He has to...get away. Has to...get her away. _

_ Has to protect protect protect protect _

_ It’s so hot it hurts has to protect it hurts it hurts it hurts _

* * *

A  _ jeweled  _ dragon, Reiji thought, trying to restrain his excitement — Masumi might very well strike him if she realized how he actually felt about their encounter with the dragon. But a  _ jeweled _ dragon!! This was beyond any of his hopes and dreams. Jeweled dragons had been rare even when dragons were plentiful — and like Heartish ore retained more magic than normal stone, a jeweled dragon produced much more magic than any other dragon.

He cleaned off his glasses for the third time — he still couldn’t seem to get all of the dust off of it. Every step up the mountain was another step closer to being able to end his father’s reign. Every step was a step closer to peace.

Masumi forged ahead with much more speed than he — she was quite worried about that girl. She certainly was the very picture of a knight, with her devotion to protecting the innocent.

“The girl will be alive,” he called to her.

“Oh, like you can be sure,” she snapped back at him. “We need to  _ hurry _ !”

The forest was getting thicker this far up, and the ground more treacherous. It was easy to track the dragon, however — it had left singed footprints in its wake, and broken branches all over the ground. Reiji stepped over a few more of them.

The dragon likely wouldn’t have run very far — it was laden down by the girl, and clearly a young dragon judging by its size, meaning it would tire quickly. And, Reiji thought with some concern as he looked over the droplets of blood that scattered the dragon’s foot prints, it was injured. It would need to rest soon.

His calculations turned out correct. It wasn’t long before the air began to grow heavy with a thick heat. Masumi pressed on without concern, but she must be starting to sweat in her armor — Reiji had to pull his scarf from his neck and tuck it into his bag in order to stave off some of the heat.

Several trees were broken in half on the other side of the path, leading away and into the forest. The heat grew stronger and thicker, making it almost hard to breathe, and a strange sense of dread grew in Reiji’s stomach that he knew didn’t come from within him. Masumi seemed to be feeling it too, because she actually hesitated before charging into the woods, face tight.

“It’s the dragon’s aura,” Reiji told her, coming up alongside her. “They grow thicker when they are frightened. The heat comes from this dragon’s connection to fire — the fear is a natural dragon skill. It’s meant to cause us to turn away.”

Masumi grit her teeth.

“It will have to try harder than that.”

Despite the clear fear in her eyes, produced by the dragon — and the tight panic that had spiked in Reiji’s chest as they got closer — she kept walking forward. She was strong, he thought with approval. He was glad she had come along after all. On his own part, he needed to tease out a thread of magic from his stone in order to chase away the unnatural fear.

He heard the dragon before he saw it. The heavy, ragged breaths and the lash of its tail against the air, the crackle of heat against the leaves that were starting to come close to burning. Masumi drew her sword, throwing an arm out to hold him back.

The dragon crouched low to the ground, staring at them with its two colored eyes. Its tail lashed nervously. There was no immediate sign of Yuzu...no, wait, there she was.

Yuzu was curled on top of a tree trunk, white faced and trembling, but otherwise, seemingly unharmed. Just as he had expected. Masumi began forward almost as soon as she saw her, but Reiji grabbed her shoulder. He kept his eyes on the dragon, running his tongue over his dry lips from the heat.

Softly, uncertain of the pronunciation, he spoke in a low, gentle draconic.

The dragon’s head twitched forward. Reiji tried again.

“ ** _Hello_ ** ,” he said in draconic. “ ** _Can you understand me?_ ** ”

Masumi twitched with surprise at the sounds coming from Reiji’s lips, but Reiji ignored her, staring at the dragon. The dragon’s eyes were fixed on him specifically now. A soft rumble rose up in its chest, and after a few moments, he recognized them as properly pronounced draconic.

** _Hurts_ ** _ . _

“I understand. You’re hurt. Can I...come close?”

He struggled to remember enough words from his limited studies. The dragon only stared at him. A soft whine escaped its throat. Reiji stepped forward, around Masumi, and the dragon’s head lowered, the heat spiking. He stopped. 

Could this dragon be the legendary Zarc that lived in these mountains once upon a time? It seemed too young for that to be so, but dragons could be young for a very long time. Zarc was said to have been a jeweled dragon. He decided to test it.

“ ** _Are you Zarc?_ ** ” he asked.

The dragon’s eyes narrowed, and the heat spiked again. A low, angry hiss roiled up through its throat. Reiji saw the glow of the dragon’s breath weapon rising up its throat, and Masumi swore, grabbing him and throwing him to the ground. The pair of them hit the ground just as the flash of light coursed over their heads. Trees were felled in an instant, crashing to the ground on either side of them. Masumi rose to her feet and charged while the dragon hesitated between blasts.

“Ser Kotsu,  _ wait _ ,” Reiji tried to shout, but his throat was thick with dust and he couldn’t cough it out.

He heard Masumi’s sword strike the dragon’s scales with a massive clang, heard the dragon roaring and its tail lashing around. He sat up to see it lunge at Masumi — she deflected its teeth with her sword, but was thrust back several feet.

_ I need to bind it to me _ , he thought with a rush of panic as the dragon’s fear aura broke through his meager magical defenses.

He pulled himself up to one knee, holding his ore in one hand and beginning to mutter spells and equations. Magic began to glow around him, painting sigils against the air. He wrote the spells across the space before him, painting runes and circles, the rituals that would bind him and the dragon.

The dragon screamed as Masumi managed to get in a slash on its unprotected belly. It staggered backwards, stopping itself before it stepped on Yuzu. Damn. He’d forgotten about her. To her credit, despite the terror on her face and the dragon’s aura that likely pinned her down with panic, she scrambled back off of the stump and hurried backwards, out of range of the dragon’s tail. When she saw him, she began to edge around the clearing towards him.

Still painting the spells, he stood, moving around towards her. Masumi rolled under another lunge from the dragon, but she was slowing down. The dragon snatched at her, and the sword went flying from her hands. She dove in the opposite direction of her sword, drawing the dragon towards her.

The spells were beginning to glisten against the dragon’s scales, now, but it didn’t seem to notice. Reiji was close, he could feel it, he was  _ nearly _ there — 

He reached the end of the spell and hesitated then — he...he couldn’t finish it. He didn’t know the dragon’s name. He needed its name to complete the spell. And if it wasn’t Zarc after all, he’d have wasted all the magic he had left. The connection would not be able to be formed.

They all might be killed.

_ Think!! _ he ordered himself, clutching to the edges of the spell before it could unravel.  _ If it’s not Zarc, then what is it? Do I have enough magic to cast a truename spell to find out? _

Think — he had to think. Masumi grabbed up her sword again and yelled, clanging it against her armor to draw the dragon’s attention towards her. It was working; if the dragon knew what spell Reiji was casting it likely could shake it off. But he was running out of time! What did he know about the dragon? It was young. It lived in the mountains where the dragon called Zarc used to live. It was a jeweled fire dragon. It had only just appeared two years ago, and it had killed only one human — and then it had disappeared until now.

The human it had killed had been...

Reiji’s eyes snapped to Yuzu, who was now within inches of him. He reached out towards her, seizing her by the arm.

“Your friend’s name,” he demanded. “What was it?”

“I — what?” Yuzu asked, eyes wide with shock.

“Your friend! The one killed by the dragon! What was his name?”

“I don’t understand how that’s —”

“If you want us to survive, then give me the name!!”

Yuzu’s mouth hung open for a second — almost a second too long.

“Yuya,” she gasped out then.

Reiji released her and whipped both hands back into his spell. He wrote the name into his spell, quick fingered, weaving the magic around him. He bolted forwards, then, ducking right in between Masumi and the dragon, ignoring her startled gasp and the spike of heat from the dragon’s breath about to cast over him.

“Yuya!” he shouted, as he flung the net of the spell over the dragon.

For a moment, it seemed like it wasn’t going to work. The spell wavered, trembled in his fingers, and threatened to fall apart. The dragon’s throat glowed with the light about to wash over him and strike him down.

And then, all at once, the air trembled. The dragon stumbled.

And when it fell forwards, it was no longer a dragon, the air pinching and warped dizzingly about its shape. Reiji threw his arms out just in time to catch the young man who collapsed into his arms — he was surprisingly heavy, and Reiji had to lower himself to the ground to support him.

His body was hot to the touch, but it began to cool as his eyes fluttered, his breath caught.

Yuzu let out a thick, wounded cry.

“Oh my gods,” she swore, collapsing to her knees and clamping her hands over her mouth. “Oh  _ deities _ .”

Reiji let out a long, slow breath — he could feel it, now, the pulsing connection between him and the boy now in his arms. It was like a rope tied to his soul, feeding back warmth into him. Pure, raw magic. A store unlike any he’d ever felt before. And even more curious — he felt almost as though something were flowing back from him and into the dragon, too. But he didn’t produce magic — so what was he giving back through this connection? He’d have to do quite a bit of research.

But for now, he turned to a gaping Masumi, and a trembling, sobbing Yuzu.

“I am going to make the educated guess,” he said, “that this is your missing friend.”

* * *

For what felt like the first time in years, Yuya opened his eyes.

His head panged with a faint headache, and his body felt heavy, but other that that, he felt...all right. As though he’d just come out of a devastating fever.

The first thing he saw, as he cracked his groggy, sticky eyes open, was a face he did not know, looking over him. His eyes caught on the deep purple irises behind glasses, and his breath caught. His eyes widened and his lips parted. 

He had never met this man before, and yet...he felt the strangest sense of a deep connection with him. Like something was anchored to his soul between them.

“Yuya!!”

The voice was familiar. The man who held him helped him sit up, just in time for someone to throw her arms around him. He grunted, body whining from the movement.

“Oh my gods, Yuya, you’re  _ alive you’re alive you’re alive _ — ”

“Y...Yuzu?” he said, coughing. “Ugh...what...where am I?”

He groaned, and then noticed something else. He flushed.

“Why am I  _ naked _ ?”

Yuzu immediately popped off of him, blushing a bit as well. He felt fabric drape over him, then, and blinked up at the man sitting over him — he’d just draped a long red scarf over his shoulders. It was big enough to completely cover him, so Yuya tugged it around him.

“T...thank you,” Yuya said. “Um...what...happened?”

“Move slowly,” the man said. “You’ve been a dragon for a very long time. It will take your body some time to adjust.”

“Right...I mean, what??”

Yuya’s eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open. He swung his gaze between the man, Yuzu, and the lady knight he’d just noticed was standing over them as well.

The man fixed his glasses, shifting up to a better position.

“I would wait until you’d recovered to explain more fully, but I sincerely doubt we have that much time,” he said. “Let me introduce us. This is Ser Kotsu Masumi of the Royal Court. And I am Akaba Reiji.”

Yuya’s eyes bulged. He shot a look at Yuzu to see if she’d heard the same thing he did. His eyes shot back to Reiji.

“You’re...the  _ prince _ ?” he said.

“Yes. That isn’t the important part at the moment, however. Tell me, Yuya — what is the last thing you remember?”

Yuya hesitated. His head was still spinning about the idea of the  _ prince _ being right here, and while Yuya was...well, not wearing anything to boot — and this was the  _ prince’s _ scarf he was wearing! But he tried to think, because he was confused too. What  _ was _ the last thing he remembered? How had he ended up here? 

For a moment, all he could remember were faint, blurred impressions, like a dream barely remembered upon waking. He remembered  _ heat _ . But before that...

“I’d....I’d gone up the mountain a bit,” Yuya said slowly. “I was going to check for blackberries, see if they were ripe yet. But then...”

He furrowed his brow, trying to think.

“I saw something...weird, in the sky. Something...glowing? Then there was this... _ heat _ in my chest. I think...I passed out?”

He wrinkled his nose trying to think. But he couldn’t remember anything else. To his surprise, however, Reiji was nodding.

“The times match up,” he said. “That was around the time my father was performing his first experiments.”

Reiji sat up straighter, flicking his bangs from his eyes.

“Are you going to explain what’s happening??” Masumi said suddenly with a snap that seemed unlike how a knight should speak to a prince. “Or are you going to continue to be cryptic?”

Reiji actually smiled slightly at Masumi’s outburst.

“I will not bore you with the details. However, from what I understand, you, Yuya, are a descendent of dragons.”

Yuya stared at him, mouth hanging open. His head spun. What on  _ earth _ was happening here?

“But how is that possible?” Yuzu said. “Dragons — Yuya is a human!”

Reiji shook his head.

“When the Great Migration occurred many centuries ago, most magical creatures left our world to return to their own,” Reiji said. “However...not all of the dragons left with them. There were legends that some of them used their great magic to transform themselves, to hide and live among humans.”

He tilted his head at Yuya.

“It seems likely that you descend from some of those dragons — the blood runs within you. Some years ago, my father was experimenting with massive quantities of old magic, resulting in magical surges that ran through the kingdom — it’s likely that one of those caught you up in it, forcibly activating your dragon blood and reverting you to your true form.”

Yuya shook his head slowly. This barely made sense — and yet...he remembered the heat. He remembered being hurt, too. And...scared. His head pounded.

“I’ve been gone for two years?” he mumbled.

Yuzu crouched down next to him, squeezing his shoulder. She looked like she was going to start crying again.

“I thought you were dead,” she said. “But you were out there all this time...”

She swallowed, pressing a hand to her mouth. Then she smiled at him.

“You saved me, you know,” she said.

“Huh? I did?”

“You must have heard that I was in trouble. As a dragon, I mean. You came to save me...”

Yuya’s lips parted. He hardly remembered being a dragon, and yet...at least he hadn’t hurt anyone.

“So what happens now?” Masumi said, folding her arms. “We came up here to catch a dragon, and he doesn’t look like a dragon anymore.”

“Why did you want to catch a dragon?” Yuzu said, eyes widening.

“He  _ is _ a dragon,” Reiji said. “Regardless of his form, he’s a dragon. And...well.”

He looked down at Yuya, and Yuya met his eyes — he felt that strange spark of connection between them again, lips parting.

“The reason you were able to transform back now, is because I have bound our souls together,” Reiji said. “We are connected, now. And I would ask for your assistance in a dire matter regarding the safety of the kingdom, if you would be willing.”

Yuya only stared at him. But Yuzu grabbed him by the shoulders, holding him close to her.

“No way!” she said, glaring at Reiji. “I only just got my best friend back, and you’re going to try and drag him off? I won’t let you!! I won’t let you use him!”

“I am offering a choice, not a command,” Reiji said calmly. “Our connection aside, I will not force him to do anything.”

“He’s just finally gotten back to himself and you’re springing this on him! Let him rest! Let him go back home and see his friends and family!!”

“We don’t have that much time, unfortunately,” Reiji said, still calm and level.

Yuzu looked like she was getting ready to yell some more, but Yuya reached up and gripped her arm gently. He smiled at her when she looked down at him, brow furrowed with worry. He turned his gaze to Reiji.

“I want to hear you out,” he said. “One way or another, I think you saved me. And if...if people are in trouble, then...I’d like to help, if I really can.”

He bit his lip, and then looked down at himself, blushing.

“Um. I think I’d like to get some clothes on, first, if that’s all right.”

Reiji’s lips twitched, and Masumi seemed to only have just now noticed his relative lack of coverings, eyes widening before she quickly looked away from him.

“I think we can arrange that,” said Reiji.

Yuya shifted forward, pulling the large scarf around him a little more to cover himself, when Reiji’s half smile suddenly slipped. His head tilted quickly to the side, brow furrowing.

Before Yuya could stand, Reiji had grabbed hold of him and Yuzu both, shoving them both down to the ground. Yuya heard the flurry of arrows shooting right over their head, heard Masumi swear and draw her sword, and then Reiji was up and on his feet, his cape whirling about him.

“What’s going on?” Yuzu shouted.

Reiji swore — he made complex signs in the air with his hands, but nothing happened, and his face tightened.

“We were followed,” he swore as he whirled to Yuya. “It’s my father’s soldiers. They’ve likely come for you.”

Yuya’s breath caught. Reiji was the prince, which meant — the  _ king _ was after him?

“I didn’t see anyone follow us!” Masumi yelled, as she grabbed Yuzu under the arm and helped her to her feet, pushing her towards the trees away from the attack.

“My father employs magicians,” Reiji said tersely as he copied Masumi by dragging Yuya up to his feet.

“But — why me?” Yuya yelped.

“If I must hazard to guess, it’s likely my father waited for me to secure you — all he has to do now is drag me back and force me to transfer our bond to him.”

“And then...”

Reiji’s eyes were dark, and Yuya was afraid to ask what would happen then.

“What do we do?” he said.

Reiji sucked in a breath as another flurry of arrows flew over their heads — Yuya stumbled over the stones in his bare feet. He glanced behind him and his heart skipped a beat to see the armored soldiers almost on their heels.

Automatically, he grabbed for Reiji’s hand, and for the pulsing, invisible connection between them.

“You said you can use magic!” he said. “With my help! Can’t we get away with that?”

Reiji’s lips parted, and his eyes widened.

“We can,” he said, “but it...it’s not easy, and you’ve only just transformed —”

“I don’t care! We have to do something, or — or we’re all going to die!”

Yuya swallowed thickly — he was still so confused. So lost. He’d been gone from his home, from his life, from himself for two years. He didn’t know what was happening.

But one way or another, he was positive that Reiji had saved him. And he wanted to do something to help.

Reiji seemed to catch it in his eyes, because his jaw tightened, and he nodded. His hand squeezed Yuya’s.

“Focus on me,” he said. “Focus on the idea that you want to lend me some of your power.”

Yuya nodded — he clung to Reiji’s hand, thinking hard. He imagined a fire in his chest, a pulsing light that flowed down his arm — and he felt it. He felt the tingle in his fingers, gasping at the spark that passed between their palms.

Something came over him — a warm, soft something, much like Reiji’s soft scarf draped around him. It wasn’t like the heat that had consumed him in his last memory before he’d woken up here, but rather more like the gentle warmth growing across your skin after draping a blanket over yourself. Yuya closed his eyes, and breathed out.

_ I want to lend you my strength _ , he thought.  _ So that I can protect everyone. _

When he opened his eyes again, he was no longer holding Reiji’s hand. He was standing far over him, in fact, much taller than he had been before. A heat thrummed through him, but it was calm and collected, unlike the blinding heat that had consumed his mind and made him unable to think.

Yuya sighed out through his suddenly long teeth and snout, stretching out his long tail, and his new body felt as natural to him as his old, his mind perfectly in place. Power thrummed through him, and he could  _ feel _ Reiji, felt his soul as though it were nestled against his own, a cool presence that anchored him to himself even as he was sheathed in scales.

He turned his eyes to the soldiers who had all, as one, frozen. Their swords clattered to the ground, and mouths hung open with shock.

Yuya let out a plume of smoke through his nostrils, and felt the heat of his flames grumbling in his stomach. But he would not release the weapon of his breath that nestled inside him. He was not the one fighting.

His power rushed through Reiji, and he heard Reiji gasp softly as though he were directly beside him.

Reiji’s skin  _ glowed _ . When his hands moved, it left painted, glowing lines in the air, as he painted the symbols and circles that would guide the magic that Yuya lent him in the way that he wished.

“Hold on to Yuya,” Reiji said, and Yuya lowered his body so that Masumi and Yuzu, briefly having stared at him with awe, scrambled forward to put their hands against his scales.

Reiji and Yuya’s power wove together — because Yuya felt it, Reiji had a power within him too, like a coal that had yet to be stoked, something that Reiji perhaps didn’t even realize was within him — but Yuya’s flames were encouraging it to begin to flame up, and the two fires within them merged until Yuya couldn’t tell where he ended and Reiji began.

When Reiji spoke next, the words that came from his lips were so ancient that Yuya shuddered — even he did not know what they meant, and his body as it was remembered a different language than his native one. But they made the air shake, and several of the soldiers fell to their knees. 

_ I don’t want to hurt them _ , Yuya thought, suddenly, with panic.

Reiji’s flames paused a moment. For just a breath, Yuya thought Reiji was going to try and rip the fire out of him. That he was going to forcibly drag Yuya’s power from him and use it to cut these people down right in front of him.

But it was over in an instant. Reiji’s desires aligned with Yuya’s.

_ Neither do I _ , Reiji’s voice echoed in his mind.

He cut through the air with his palm, and something cracked, like a lightning bolt striking the earth. Yuya roared.

When next he opened his eyes, he was human again, and staring at a scenery he had never seen before. He was also, thankfully, wearing clothes — nothing more than a simple tunic, leggings, and boots, but enough to be comfortable.

Reiji stirred beside him on one side, and Yuzu on the other. Masumi was already sitting up, arms folded as she looked about.

“Where...are we?” she said.

Reiji coughed. His eyes fluttered behind his glasses.

“I thought perhaps it would be to our benefit to...retreat,” he said. “Considering how much that magic knocked the both of us out...I’m glad I did. We will need...much more practice.”

His eyes caught on Yuya’s as he sat up, and Yuya’s breath caught as well. His body trembled with the strain of the magic they had just cast — and with awe.

He sat up, and squinting, looked down at the sun setting over the faraway mountains. He didn’t know where they were. He had no idea where to even begin thinking about what had just happened, or...what he was.

But he breathed in, and he breathed out. He stared at his hands, his human hands, and thought about the scales that lived beneath his skin.

He looked to Reiji, and Reiji looked to him.

“I’m sorry,” Reiji said. “I took you very far away from your home.”

Yuya wasn’t surprised to find a smile growing on his lips, but Reiji’s eyes widened slightly.

“Well,” he said, turning towards him and resting his head on his hands. “Start telling me what the next part of this adventure of ours, is.”

Reiji blinked, lips parting. And then, almost hesitantly, he smiled.

“I think,” he said, “that that can be arranged.”


End file.
